I assume that you will still be able to buy XBL "money" at places like Gamestop, or maybe I'm just hoping that you will still be able to do this. I've never used a credit card on XBL and don't want to start now

count me in as someone who would be VERY unhappy if points cards go away

and depending on the retail arrangement i cant possibly see ms eating the cost of allllllllll those points cards still out there (i assume retailers "buy" them upfront and dont just receive a % of the end sale?)

The cloud powered music service launches tomorrow on Xbox 360 as part of a rolling update to Xbox Live. It goes live for Windows 8 when the operating system launches later this month on 26th October, and on iOS and Android devices at a later, unspecified date.

Xbox Music, which replaces the Zune service, launches with 30 million songs. You can listen to songs for free on a Windows 8-based tablet and PC, create playlists, as you'd imagine, create artist-based radio stations and use Smart DJ to create playlists with unlimited skipping. Then, you can buy the music you want to own from the Xbox Music Store, available on Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.

The free, ad-supported streaming of the entire catalogue is only available on Windows 8. You can buy the Xbox Music Pass for £8.99 a month, which lets you take music to the cloud and listen to on other devices such as Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 8.

Currently, Xbox 360 owners cannot make use of the free, ad-supported streaming service. You have to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription and, on top of that, pay for the Xbox Music Pass so the cloud makes your songs appear on your console. Will free streaming be an option on the next Xbox?

I thought i had heard that it was 'free' on Xbox with Ads(with XBLG),i would of at least stuck my nose in,as it is..it will be something else to ignore on the Xbox dash

"Don't panic" if the system update takes its time to appear, Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has reassured. It will hit three million consoles worldwide today and everyone else within the next two weeks.

so if it hits for you,go try out the new Internet Explorer(it's not bad)

I got it a couple of days ago, and I have to say I'm loving the update.

The Pin feature is great. It means a couple of XBLA games are back in rotation that shouldn't have been ignored. I do wish I could pin the areas of the marketplace I frequent, but that doesn't require a lot of extra steps (it feels more streamlined now).

The most important change for me, though, is the way titles are presented. They've simplified it or something. Some of you may remember that the My Games section has been taking a minute and a half to load on my 360 for a while now (since before the last update). Probably part of the reason so many XBLA games were ignored. Now everything loads in about 15 seconds! It's incredible. If I need to see details on a game, it'll take near that epic time again, but I can go from dashboard to launching a game in a comparative blink of an eye.

Also, starting today, several new apps will roll out worldwide on Xbox LIVE including1:

ARTE (Germany, France)With the ARTE app on Xbox LIVE, you can watch an exciting mix of content from the Cultural TV station including documentaries, concerts and movies.

CinemaNow (Expanding to Canada)CinemaNow is an Authenticated Video on Demand (AVOD) application providing customers with access to TV and Movie content previously purchased on CinemaNow.com.

CNET (United States, Canada)CNET offers all the product reviews, technology shows and event coverage you love, now on Xbox LIVE. CNET helps you use technology to enhance and enrich your life. From specially curated content to advice, it’s everything you need to buy and get the most out of tech that’s right for you. Get the best in technology, right where you want it.

Karaoke (All LIVE regions, excluding Japan and United Arab Emirates)Karaoke provides access to more than 8,000 songs from the latest hits to the oldies but goodies, available on Xbox LIVE. Your avatar will go on stage and sing with a full complement of stage props and back band. Use SmartGlass to play/stop/pause, browse the database and lyrics or to add songs to the playlist. Songs don’t require any download and will playback immediately via streaming for a robust karaoke experience.

Napster (Germany, United Kingdom)With your Xbox and Napster Unlimited plus Mobile, you can play millions of songs instantly. Listen to millions of songs in various genres, play as much as you want, enjoy hours of expertly programmed music. Discover new releases, charts and much more.

SkyDrive (All LIVE regions)SkyDrive is the place to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. With SkyDrive for Xbox, you can easily view your photos and videos on your TV. You can also play slideshows and view photos and videos shared with you. For more information, visit the Inside SkyDrive blog.

SPORT1 (Austria, Germany)Enter the world of sports through your Xbox. The SPORT1 app provides Video-Sport-News, Livescores, Livestreams of popular sport events and access to Pay-TV Sports channel SPORT1+.

VEVO (Expanding to Spain, Italy & France)With over 45,000 videos by 11,000 artists, VEVO is the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform. Stream live concerts, watch exclusive programming and queue up all your favorite videos. VEVO is available in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. The VEVO app for Xbox includes high-quality on demand music videos free to the user and allows social interactions between fans, VEVO, and users.

I signed up for the trial, but in looking over the available films for subscribers I was surprised to find very, very little. They give you some credits to use at the kiosks but that kind of defeats the purpose of the service on Live.

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Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

In a landmark deal announcement for Xbox 360 and Time Warner Cable customers, we’re excited to share a new partnership that will deliver up to 300 of the most popular live TV channels to Xbox 360 for Xbox Live Gold members. This deal, which will bring more live channels than any other experience on Xbox 360, will offer Time Warner Cable subscribers with an Xbox Live Gold membership the ability to watch their favorite shows from right from their Xbox 360 — including favorites like AMC, BBC World News, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network, HGTV and more. And unlike any other platform, you’ll be able to control your entertainment using your voice via Kinect for Xbox 360.

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Because I can,also because I don't care what you want.XBL: OriginalCeeKayWii U: CeeKay

I have the Fios app for 360 and to be honest it's crappy - basically allows you to stream national channels through your xbox, which means no local channels and its subject to latency. Why someone wouldn't just switch over to the other input and watch the full set of channels in perfect hd I don't know.

We’re inviting Xbox Live members worldwide to participate in the 2013 Xbox Live Update for Xbox 360 Public Beta.* It will include updates to improve overall performance and the ability to conduct transactions with local currency, as Microsoft Points will be retired later this year.

the * is to say that users in Japan won't be able to join the beta, because MS hates Japan.

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Because I can,also because I don't care what you want.XBL: OriginalCeeKayWii U: CeeKay